This section provides background information related to the present disclosure which is not necessarily prior art.
Iliotibial (IT) band stretches are commonly prescribed by doctors, physical therapists, personal trainers and other healthcare professionals to alleviate pain in the hip, knees, and/or along the IT band due to chronic overuse and repetition. Examples include runners' knee, iliotibial band syndrome (ITBS) or iliotibial band friction syndrome (ITBFS), hip bursitis, sciatica, and patella mal-tracking. However, IT band stretches are hard for individual patients to perform, thus requiring travel to a healthcare office or appropriate training facility and the assistance of a skilled and properly trained healthcare professional.
In particular, manual IT band stretches require that the patient maintain both legs straight (or with slight flexion in the knee up to 30 degrees), extend one leg across the body, and then apply a downward force to that leg, all while keeping the hips anchored to the floor. Under these conditions, it is very difficult for the patient to replicate the forces normally applied by a healthcare professional and needed to properly perform the stretch.